Article III

• No age limit

• No residency requirement

• No citizenship requirement

• Life term limit

• Federal judges are appointed by the president and approved by the Senate

  • Senatorial Courtesy— “Recommendation” from the senators of a state regarding a federal judge of a state, asking their opinion on the judge’s qualifications

  • Litmus Test— Measuring a judge’s personal opinion on different matters to see if they will be able to listen to facts over their own opinions

Judicial Review

• Judicial Review— The power of the judiciary to examine and, if necessary, invalidate actions undertaken by the legislative and executive branches if deemed unconstitutional or unlawful

• Not explicitly stated in the Constitution

• John Marshall set the precdent of judicial review through the SCOTUS ruling Marbury v. Madison

• Can review:

  • Acts of Congress (and can remove certain parts of a law)

  • State actions that are against the Constitution (Supremacy Clause)

  • Presidential power (executive orders)

  • Federal agency protections (bureaucracies)

Jurisdiction

• Jurisdiction— The power to make legal decisions and judgements

• Dual court system, state and federal courts

• Original Jurisdiction— A court’s power to be the first to hear a case

• Appellate Jurisdiction— A court’s power to review a case appealed from a lower court

• Federal Court Jurisdiction— Federal cases (US matters) and diversity cases (involving citizens from two or more states)

Legislative Courts

• Created by Congress for specialized purposes

• US Claims Courts

  • Original jurisdiction in claims agaisnt the US government

• Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

  • Appeals for patents trademarks, etc.

• US Court of International Trade

  • Tariffs and trade matters

• Court of Military Appeals

• US Tax Court

  • Income tax and tax issues

District Courts

• First created in 1789

• Federal trial courts

• Original jurisdiction involving federal law (determine guilty or innocent)

• Both civil and criminal cases

• Grand Jury (23 people)

  • Determine if there is enough evidence to merit a trial

  • Issue an inditement

  • Secret

• Petit Jury (12 people)

  • Determine guilt or innocence

  • If a grand jury determines if there is evidence for a trial, the petit jury decides the trial

Courts of Appeals

• Hearing federal issues, improper courtroom procedures, incorrect application of law in lower courts

• Usually 3 judges

• No jury because experts on the law/courtroom procedures are needed

Supreme Court

• Only court mentioned in the Constitution, established through Article III

• Final decision-maker on all federal laws

• Currently 9 justices including the Chief Justice

• Appointed for life/confirmed by the Senate

• Session runs first Monday in October through June

SCOTUS Jurisdiction

• Original jurisdiction when they hear the case for the first time

• Cases between states

• Cases involving foreign ambassadors and other diplomats

• Cases between the US and a state

• A state and a citizen of another state (action brought by a state)

SCOTUS Appellate Jurisdiction

• Cases reviewed from lower courts

  • US Courts of Appeal

  • States’ highest courts

  • Court of Military Appeals

  • US regulatory commissions

  • Legislative courts

How Cases Reach the Supreme Court

• Writ of Certiorari— An order from the SCOTUS to a lower court to send up the records on a case for review

  • 4/9 justices need to grant a cert— prevent a majority of the court from controlling all the cases it agrees to hear

• Petition for Certiorari— A document which a losing party files with the SCOTUS asking it to review the decision of a lower court

  • Must raise a constitutional issue or show legal error in a lower court

Shaping the Decision

• Brief— Submitted by the lawyers, a written statement setting forth the legal arguments, relevant facts, and precedents supporting one side of a case

• Amicus Curiae Brief— “friend of the court” filed by parties with an interest in the case

• Oral Arguments— Lawyers on each side of the case have only 30 minutes to argue their point of view

• Conference— Led by the chief justice, all 9 (at least 6) gather and give their conclusions on each case

  • All votes have the same weight

The Opinion

• Unanimous Opinion— All justices vote the same way (about ¼ to ⅓ of decisions are unanimous)

• Majority Opinion— Expresses the views of the majority of the justices

• Concurring Opinion— One or more justices who agree with the majority’s conclusions about a case but for varied reasons write this opinion

• Dissenting Opinion— The opinion of the justices on the losing side of the case. Although the decision may not have won, years down the line the dissent could be more favorable to changes in society

Styles of Judicial Interpretation

• Judicial Activism— The courts should play a key role in shaping national policy

  • Court allows minority voice to be heard

  • Should apply the Constitution to social and political questions

• Judicial Restraint— The court should avoid taking the initiative on social and political questions, defer to the majority

  • Upholds acts of Congress unless they clearly violate a specific part of the Constitution

• Updated Approaches:

  • Neutralist Model— The meaning of the Constitutional text (textualism), value of Stare Decisis (precedent)

  • Attitudinal Decision-making Model— Look at the statistical pattern of justices’ decision-making, using Martin-Quinn scores to see justices’ decisions based on personal ideological views

    • Originalism (original Constitution intent) vs. living, evolving constitutionalism (how it applies to today’s world)

• What type of interpretation a justice uses often depends on how you view them

How is Case Law Created?

• Statutory Law— Statues are laws written by the US Congress, state legislatures, and local legislative bodies

• Case/Common Law— Law made by judges in the process of resolving individual cases

Key Concepts with Civil Liberties

• Civil rights— The government’’s collective decisions on the treatment of individuals

• Civil liberties— Restrictions on the government